Panel spotlights 'best practices' for gang, violence prevention

Morgan True SPECIAL TO THE TELEGRAM & GAZETTE

Published Tuesday October 2, 2012 at 11:00 pm

Updated Tuesday October 2, 2012 at 11:42 pm

Sgt. Miguel Lopez, an 18-year veteran of the Worcester Police Department's Gang Unit, was part of a panel discussion Tuesday at the Suffolk University Law School on how nationwide best practices for stemming gang violence are being implemented throughout the commonwealth.

The panel also featured Mary Beth Heffernan, secretary of Public Safety and Security, state Sen. Michael J. Rodrigues, D-Westport, and Andrea Perry, executive director of YouthConnec — a group that places social workers in police stations to work with at-risk youth.

The event drew a diverse crowd for what might have otherwise become an ivory-tower discussion of a predominantly inner-city problem.

The discussion was held in part to launch a new book co-edited by Suffolk University Professors Erika Gebo and Brenda J. Bond titled, Looking Beyond Suppression: Community Strategies to Reduce Gang Violence.

The evening focused on the importance of data-driven public policy to prevent disenfranchised youth from turning to gangs as well as getting government agencies and their community partners to work harmoniously in implementing solutions tailored to a community.

“It's cross-agency, it's not just police; it's not just the district attorney; it's schools, churches and hospitals; it's outreach workers and community members,” said Ms. Gebo who specializes in community intervention and crime policy evaluation and has worked on the Community Safety Initiative in the Fitchburg, Leominster and Gardner tri-city area.

She began her remarks by noting that gangs represent a small percentage of those living in urban areas. Still, she added, it must be acknowledged that gangs commit a large portion of violent crimes in those communities.

Speaking after the panel discussion, Sgt. Lopez agreed, saying that approximately 50 percent of shootings in Worcester are gang related. Worcester Police have identified close to 1,000 individuals involved in gangs — only 0.5 percent of the city's total population, he said.

Of that subset, he estimated 10 percent are driving most of the violence committed by gangs in the Worcester area.

The part of this subset that panelists hoped to reach was defined throughout the evening as young men ages 14-24 who are disconnected from “pro-social” institutions such as schools, churches and community organizations.

They were described as having early run-ins with law enforcement and being the victims and perpetrators of violence. The language used by the panelists to describe these youth was surprisingly devoid of any racial characterization.

The panel was well constructed to familiarize the audience with all the players in a complex effort to reach gang involved youth.

Mr. Rodrigues represented the legislators and other elected officials that allocate state-funds and write public policy, which the audience was told should be data driven but not one-size-fits all — allowing them to be different in different communities.

Secretary Heffernan was there to represent the collage of governmental agencies charged with implementing policies and supplying much of the data meant to guide them. Ms. Perry was there to represent the outreach organizations that receive money, usually in the form of grants, to provide services that range from trauma counseling to job-readiness programs.

And Sgt. Lopez was there to represent Law Enforcement, who handles the fallout when violent incidents do occur.

The challenge, according to professors Gebo and Bond, is to leverage the efforts of all of theses groups in a way that produces tangible results — or less gang violence.

“If we're looking at keeping kids from joining the gangs or giving kids alternatives to leave the gangs” said Sgt. Lopez “we have a whole menu of programming catered to targeted populations.”

One of these programs is the Safe and Successful Youth Initiative, a $10 million program being implemented in several communities—including Worcester — that was launched earlier this year by the Patrick-Murray administration.

Its focused on the same high-risk youth identified as likely to be the perpetrators or victims of violence. Sgt. Lopez said his unit was charged with identifying 100 young men who fit that description and connecting them with outreach groups that do counseling and family stabilization work.

The goal is avoiding the outcome of homicide for youth “that are disconnected from almost every aspect of mainstream society,” said Ms. Perry who is familiar with the program through her outreach work in Boston.

Sgt. Lopez said that his unit and their community partners were in contact with about 70 percent of the youth targeted through the initiative. He said he is optimistic that it can reduce violence in Worcester, but he added it's far too early to tell.

There is also a troubling generational aspect of gang violence, observed Sgt. Lopez. He estimated that of the 100 youth identified as part of the SSY initiative 34 had a parent or older family member he recognized as having been a gang member.

When asked if gang violence is something that can be prevented, Sgt. Lopez said, “I think it's reasonable to expect that you can suppress a high-level of gang violence, but I don't think its something you can eradicate.”

Another challenge is getting people outside of affected communities to recognize the importance of stopping gang violence.

Mr. Rodrigues said he is well aware of this dynamic as he represents a district with six suburban communities and the one urban community of Fall River. He said it is often difficult to sell the suburban communities on legislation that will mostly benefit urban areas.

Although, he said recently, the spread of opiate-based painkillers to suburban communities in Massachusetts has helped many see the commonalities of their plight.

Ms. Perry said this dynamic could be countered by sharing the universal experience of loss.

“Maybe you haven't lost anyone to gang violence, but maybe you did lose someone to caner or in a car accident,” and that, she said, can humanize those that have lived through tragedy as part of their association with a gang.